Seabourn Ovation from Barbados to Lisbon
There was plenty of space for everyone with hardly any queues for the main dining room and Colonade Buffet restaurant. We always managed to get a seat in the theatre. Sometimes the Observation lounge was busy pre-dinner but we still manged to find a seat as people kept coming and going.
The staff were fantastic, very polite and helpful and nothing was too much trouble. Service was excellent. We think the suite attendants were very pushed though. I believe that was a shortage on staff and they had to clean more suites. It was nearly lunchtime when ours was cleaned.
The suites were spacious with a fabulous bathroom with bath and separate shower and two sinks. Plenty of fluffy towels, bath robes and very comfortable slippers. Toiletries were Moulton Brown. There was a proper dining table with 2 chairs and a stool, if you wished you could have en-suite dining which we did not take advantage of. There was a fridge and bar area and a good sized TV. There was a large sofa which would have seated 4.The balcony was also a good size with 2 reclining chairs, 2 footstools and a small table. There was also plenty of cupboard space in the sleeping and lounge area and there was a walk in wardrobe. The room was very quiet, no noise from adjoining cabins or the corridor. We were on deck 6, quite midships, and had cabins above and below.
The Cruise Director, Ross Roberts, was the best we have had. There were only 6 in the stage cast but they were excellent. Also all guest entertainers were first class, all top quality. There were generally 2 shows per night. There was a good duo singing and playing the guitar in the Observation Lounge and a great pianist/vocalist in the cocktail bar at the side of the speciality restaurant. The house band, Quartet, played in The Club every evening and the show band and singer had a late night spot after the band. Very talented musicians.
As we had a lot of sea days (8 in all) there was always something to do. There were 4 guest lecturers on board and on sea days there were at least 2 talks a day. Stephen Cole, British journalist, broadcaster and producer gave some very interesting lectures of current affairs.
The dress code was very smart onboard and most men wore jackets every night and the ladies wore very smart dresses and cocktail dresses. We were told there was only going to be one formal night but there were two, but not a problem. People who did not want to dress up (which was very few) could eat in the Colonade buffet rather than the main restaurant in the evening.
Food: We ate in the Colonade for breakfast every morning. There was a wide choice of cooked food, pastries, cereals, yogurts and fresh fruit and nuts. You could order omelettes, poached eggs etc. from a waiter. There was a covered seating area outside for Al Fresco dining. Breakfast was much better than the lunch served here.
At lunch time we ate in the Colonade and a couple of times in the Patio area by the pool. They did open the main restaurant at lunch time but they menu was not very inspiring and I prefer plenty of salad at lunchtime. They had themed lunches – Chinese, Asian, German, Caribbean, American etc. I was not impressed with the choices and the food was not always hot enough from the buffet. They did not have any fresh, firm tomatoes on the buffet, they only had very soft ones mixed with a dressing. Most of the salads were mixed with fish and meat. The prawns were large and in good supply. Desserts and gelato were good. The Patio outside served burgers, hot dogs, pizzas (not the best) and usually a meat and fish dish.
There was a very large choice on the menu in the main dining room for dinner but sometimes the food was not hot enough. They always had a different souffle on the menu every evening for dessert. The cheese selection was the worst we have had, both in the buffet and main restaurants. No choice, just 2 cheeses which was generally cheddar and another fairly bland cheese. We never had any Brie or Camenbert. Blue cheese was an option for the second cheese on a few occasions. To say Seabourn is a 6 star product, we did not think the food in the dining room was any better than Celebrity, Princess or Azamara. There were two gala nights with a set limited menu which was disappointing. For the second gala night we went up to the Colonade where they had a better choice and Dover Sole and Chateaubriand was on the menu. We were never offered Dover Sole in the main restaurant but Lemon Sole was on offer sometimes. Also there were very few vegetables with the main courses. We thought that they should have put tablecloths on the tables in the Colonade on an evening and lower the lighting. It was a bit lit a cafeteria rather than a restaurant.
We booked Solis, the speciality restaurant one night. This was included in the package. Again we were disappointed with standard and did not book to go back. There were no petit fours after the meal which were provided in the main restaurant and the waitress did not carry our drinks from the bar to the table, which we would expect on this standard of ship. There was a Sushi restaurant but we did not try that.
One of the highlights of the cruise was the beach barbecue at Carambola Beach where staff served champagne and caviar from a surf board in the sea, followed by a lovely lunch of steak, lobster tails and salad. There was a steel band playing and water sports were available.
Based on service and entertainment and service we would sail with Seabourn again and we are not great foodies but we expected a higher standard of food. Comparing it to the standard we had with Seabourn over 20 years ago, we thought standards had fallen but they have slipped with most cruise lines over the years. Although it was a small ship, it had the feeling of a larger one with plenty of space and plenty to do. Excellent service and the best entertainment we have had.
